Over on the Belden blog Brian Oulton was accused of being snarky. (Actually, I’m a fan of snarky.) Anyway, in Infrastructure – More than a Big Word he said, “You’ll see a lot of discussion from Belden about industrial Ethernet infrastructure. That’s code for ‘a network you designed’ and the opposite of ‘a bunch of switches I strung together that works.’” His post reinforces one of my core beliefs: “There’s never a substitute for doing the engineering.” We have a section in our PROFINET one-day training classes on “installing the infrastructure.” It includes tips and techniques, what topologies to use (and what not to use), and some suggestions on switch selection. (BTW, we still have some free classes left this year.) Brian will be pleased to know that we think highly of his switches. Even though PROFINET can use a Best Buy Ethernet Switch, really? And here is a little more of my attempt at Switch Education.
–Carl Henning